Fluid delivery systems, such as, for example, vehicular fuel delivery systems, are often comprised, at least in part, of a fluid conduit that allows for the communication of fluid from a source to one or more components downstream from the source. In a fuel delivery system, for example, a fluid conduit (i.e., a fuel rail) includes an inlet that is connected to and in fluid communication with an outlet of a fuel source (i.e., a fuel tank), a plurality of outlets that are each configured for mating with a corresponding fuel injector, and a fuel passageway between the inlet and outlets of the fluid conduit to allow for the transfer of fuel therebetween. In many instances, the fluid conduit includes a number of components (i.e., mounting brackets, fuel injector cups, end caps, etc.) that are affixed to the fluid conduit using a furnace brazing process in which the fluid conduit and the corresponding components are inserted into a brazing furnace where the components are brazed onto the fluid conduit.
One inherent drawback with many types of fluid conduit assemblies is that various devices that are part of or associated with the fluid distribution system may cause pressure waves in the form of pulses to propagate through the system. These pressure waves are undesirable as they can have an adverse impact on the performance of the system. In fuel systems, for example, pressure waves may cause inaccurate metering of fuel by the fuel injectors associated with the fuel rail. This degrades the performance of the engine to which the fuel injectors supply fuel because the desired amount of metered fuel will vary with the amount of pressure within the fuel rail. Another effect of pressure waves is that the waves may cause undesirable noise in the fuel rail, and thus, the fuel system.
In order to prevent or at least substantially reduce these pressure waves, conventional systems employ dampers within the fluid conduit, and more particularly, within the passageway of the fluid conduit. However, such dampened systems are not without their disadvantages. For example, conventional dampers are typically hollow-bodied structures constructed of a thin stainless steel material that are sealed at each end using a brazing or welding process, for example. As a result of this and other like constructions, if the damper is installed into the fluid conduit prior to the fluid conduit being subjected to the furnace brazing process described above, the damper may rupture due to thermal expansion of the gases captured within the body of the damper during the brazing process. More particularly, when the fluid conduit, and thus the damper, is exposed to extreme levels of heat, as is the case in a brazing furnace, gases within the cavity of the hollow-bodied damper expand, thereby causing distortion to the damper body and rendering the damper ineffective, or possibly causing the damper to be destroyed.
In light of the above, conventional fluid conduit assemblies are typically assembled in a multi-part process wherein the fluid conduit is brazed as described above, the damper is then inserted into the fluid conduit following the cooling step of the brazing process, and then an end cap is added to seal the fluid conduit. Accordingly, in addition to the brazing process, a second, additional operation such as laser welding or induction brazing is used to permanently attach the end cap. This added processing results in, among other things, added costs to the overall system.
Therefore, there is a need for a fuel delivery system that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.